Travelling to Antarctica and witnessing its majesty first-hand is an immense privilege – one that comes with a responsibility to leave the region as you found it, leaving nothing but footprints and taking nothing but memories and photographs.
The recent appearance of graffiti at Whaler’s Bay, Deception Island, has left the IAATO community shocked and disgusted. This thoughtless vandalism was NOT perpetrated by a visitor travelling with an IAATO member. Still, together with the entire polar community, we certainly feel its impact.
With consistent, robust Antarctic protections in mind, IAATO came into being more than three decades ago, a global, non-profit industry alliance dedicated to promoting and advocating for safe and responsible private-sector travel to the White Continent within the framework of the Antarctic Treaty System.
In addition to creating robust guidance to which our members adhere, IAATO espouses a commitment to protecting the region, which involves monitoring sites and reporting new or unusual developments to the Antarctic Treaty. We’d like to thank our members for reporting this discovery and have submitted all information and photographs to the relevant Antarctic authorities.
Anyone travelling to Antarctica has a responsibility to do so respectfully. We advise anyone planning to travel to the region to learn their obligations before they visit and select a tour operator with a safe and environmentally responsible ethos at its core.
Learn more about the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators and our mission.